An inquest into the death of an Indian dentist in Ireland after she was reportedly denied an abortion for her miscarrying fetus is due to open Monday in Galway.

The death of Savita Halappanavar at University Hospital Galway on October 28, 2012, prompted anger in Ireland and elsewhere, and sparked demands for Ireland to introduce new abortion laws.

The Halappanavar family says Savita died of blood poisoning after doctors declined to abort her miscarrying fetus because of Ireland's strict laws. Her husband says she was advised her unborn baby would likely die.

Praveen Halappanavar says his wife, who was in extreme pain, asked for the abortion, but was told that Ireland is a Catholic country and an abortion could not be done while the fetus was alive.

More details may emerge at Monday's hearing into the events leading to the 31-year-old's death.

Ireland plans to send up to eight troops with UK service members to train forces in Mali - the first time the republic will have made a joint deployment with the UK since Ireland broke away last century, Ireland's defense ministry said.

“I believe that the provision of a joint UK/Ireland contingent is another step in the normalization of relations between” the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom, Ireland Defense Minister Alan Shatter said Wednesday.

President Barack Obama announced on Thursday - St. Patrick's Day - that he will stop in Ireland in May as a side trip from his state visit to the United Kingdom, and that he hopes to visit the birthplace there of his great-great-great-great-great grandfather.

He made the announcement as he met with the Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny in the Oval Office. The birthplace is in Moneygall, he said, adding that he also plans to visit "famous sites" in the country.

Obama - clad in a light green tie and sporting shamrocks emerging from his suit pocket - stressed the "incredible bond" between the two countries. Beyond the customary comments on his guest's leadership, the president thanked Ireland for its assistance with the U.S. effort in Afghanistan and on issues such as food security, and hailed progress and stability in Northern Ireland.

St. Patrick

To Irish Catholics, St. Patrick's Day is not just a day for green beer and ridiculous hats. It's the feast day of their nation's patron saint.

According to Catholic.org, Patrick was born to Roman parents in occupied Scotland in the year 387. He was kidnapped and taken to pagan Ireland as a slave at age 14 but escaped and returned to Great Britain at age 20. He entered the Catholic priesthood and eventually became a bishop. In 433 he was dispatched back to Ireland, where he used a shamrock to illustrate the concept of the Holy Trinity. Virtually the entire population of the island converted to Catholicism.

It's St. Patrick's Day, and everyone is feeling a little Irish today. CNN.com Live is there as we cover the Irish prime minister's trip to Washington. We're also your home for the latest news from Japan.

Today's programming highlights...

Ongoing coverage - Japan earthquake/tsunami aftermath

8:30 am ET - Irish PM meets with Biden - He's only been in office a few days, but Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny is already being treated like a VIP. He begins his day at Vice President Biden's Naval Observatory home for a breakfast in his honor.

The European Court of Human Rights condemned Ireland's laws on abortion Thursday, ruling the country violated the human rights of a woman forced to go abroad to end her pregnancy.

It did not, however, recommend a change to Irish law, which prohibits abortion in all cases.

The woman, a Lithuanian national who was not named, was in remission from a rare form of cancer and unaware she was pregnant when she had a series of check-ups not advised during pregnancy, the court said.

Ireland has formally requested substantial "financial assistance" from the European Union and International Monetary Fund to buttress the government and bolster its struggling banking sector, Prime Minister Brian Cowen said Sunday night.

"I want to assure the Irish people that we have a better future before us," Cowen said in announcing the request, as well as pledging substantial budget cuts and tax hikes.

Athlete Marion Jones' book gives her version of her drug scandal and time in prison.

Marion Jones

The American track star won three gold and two bronze medals at the 2000 Olympics in Sidney, Australia, but relinquished them when news emerged that she had used performance-enhancing drugs.

Jones spent six months in federal prison for lying to investigators. She now plays guard for the Tulsa Shock of the WNBA and recently released "On the Right Track," in which she gives her version of events and describes her time in prison.

Former British PM Tony Blair walks into a Dublin television station for an interview Friday night.

Police made a "small number" of arrests in Dublin where former British Prime Minister Tony Blair was due to sign copies of his autobiography Saturday, a spokesman for Ireland's national police service said.

Despite reports that shoes and eggs were thrown at Blair, police could not confirm whether anything was thrown at him, and video from inside the store showed him unscathed, without any stains on his jacket. FULL POST

About This Blog

This blog – This Just In – will no longer be updated. Looking for the freshest news from CNN? Go to our ever-popular CNN.com homepage on your desktop or your mobile device, and join the party at @cnnbrk, the world's most-followed account for news.